Apparatus for refrigerating liquids



Feb. 25, 1941. w. T AMMINGA' I APPARATUS FOR BEFRIGERAT ING' LIQUIDS Filed Aug. 19, 1939 2 Sheets-Shet 1 INYENTOR. William Tammmgcx ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 25,

., arrsaa'rus son asr'arcsaa'rmc nonms William Tammin ga, Bronx, N. Y asaignor to Monitor Process Corporation, Jersey City, N. 1., a corporation of New Jersey -Application August 1a. 1939, Serial No. 290,994

10 Claim This invention is an apparatus for refrigerating liquids and, while adapted to-be used in connection with liquids generally, is primarily intended for refrigeration of milk in delivery cans, of 5 which the usualQO quart and 40 quart variety are typical. Cansof the .type referred to are commonly shipped from the creamery to retail distributors who place the can'in suitable containers or receptacles and draw off quantities thereof from time to time in any-appropriate manner for the retail sale of milk by the glass.

' It has become the common practice for the retailer to housesuch cans within an appropriate casing or cabinet which is substantially airl5 tight and to refrigerate the interior of such'cabinets by means of cooling coils through which a refrigerant iscirculated. These coils are in some instances supported directly upon the wall of the cabinet, althoughf'the better prior pracgo tice is tomount the coils upon a:metal plate which is in turn secured to the wall of the cabinet in a rigid position therein and so located that the coils, as well ,asthe plate, are spaced from the can contained within the cabinet.

35 This ar'rangement'has been used so as to allow.

for variations which are commonly found in can sizesand to permit of cans embodying such variation to be housed within the cabinet without damage to the coils.

so with all prior. constructions of which I am' aware the coil, as well as the plate, have been spaced from the can, the contents of which were to be cooled and the theory of. operation hasbeen that the refrigerant circulated through the 35 coil would cool the coil, while the coil would cool the air within thecabinet, while the air within the cabinet cooled the can which in'turn cooled the milk. The cabinets employed cannot in practice be absolutely air-tight or hermetically The purpose of the present invention therefore is to provide for a more emcient heat 50 exchange between the milk in the can and the cooling mediumin the coil. I have accomplished this result in a simple and thoroughly eflicient manner by forming a plate of good conductive material in such manner that it will substantially a conform to the exterior of an appreciable portion of the circumference of-the can and by floatably mounting said plate within the confines of the cabinet in such position that, whenthe can is placed in the cabinet and forced against the plate, it will firmly and resiliently contact there- ,5

with, so that there is such direct engagement between the wall of the can and the concave face'of the plate as to insure direct heat exchange through the conductivity of these parts. On the convex face of the plate I mount a coil, 10 preferably by soldering, sweating or brazing the coil to the plate and make the connections between the coil and the remainder of the circulatory system of an appropriate refrigerating apparatus in such a way as to permit of appre- 1 ciable movement of the coil without damage to the coil. In practice the plate is preferably spring pressed in the direction of the can, so that there results metallic conductivity between the coil and the plate and between the plate and the can and even at such portions'oi the plate where direct contact may not be accomplished due to irregularities in can sizes, the film of air between these parts is so small that the heat from the milk in the can may bev readily absorbed 2 5 ther'ethrough to the refrigerating fluid in the coil in an efficient manner.

Iii-addition to the foregoing I provide appropriate means, such as mechanical or air agitation for the milk within the can, so that all parts 9 of such milk-may be brought into contact with the thus cooled portions of the can wall and the milk thereby cooled in a uniform manner;

Important features of the present invention consist in the simplicity, economy and efliciency of the apparatus and its ability to operate through protracted periods without maintenance of any kind insofar as the structure of this invention is concernedr- Features of the invention, other than those 4 adverted to, will be apparent from the hereinafter detailed description and claims, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The accompany ns drawings illustrate one practical embodiment of the invention, but the construction therein shown is to be understood; k

as illustrative, only, and not as defining the. limits of the invention.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a cabinet hsving associated therewith the present invention, the door of the cabinet being removed so that the interior thereof may be readily seen.

Figure 2 is a plan view taken in the plane of the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig- 9 indicated at I, and are provided with upright I flanges 8 perforated at 9 for the passage theremerely the back face of the coil and the plate on which it is mounted. Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Referring .to the drawings, l designates a cabinetvof any appropriate kind. It is shown-in the drawings merely as a rectangular box having a front door 2 which may be hinged as at 3.

In practice, it is common to make these cabinetsdouble walled with insulation of any appropriate kind in the jackets thusprovided. The present invention'is not'limited to any particular kind of a cabinet, nor does it concern a can 4 adapted to be housed therein, other than that such can be ofan appropriate size, within reasonable limits,

, conform to the rear half of the can 4'when the latter is placed in the cabinet I.

the height of the body of the can, i. e., from substantially the bottom of the can to a point adjacent the-usual bead 6' thereof. The lateral portions of the plate 5 are flared or diverge, as

through of support and guide studs Ill. Any appropriate number of these studs may be employed, but four are used in practice as suflicient.

The guide studs are rigidly or fixedly secured to brackets ll mounted on the inside of the cabi net,-as shown best in Figure 4, and in a manner to extend forwardly in parallel relation toward the open front of the cabinet. The perforations 9 are placed to receive such studs and are each provided thereinwith a bushing l2 adapted to be impelled in a forward direction by a spring l3 embracing one of the studs and interposed between the'bracket II and the corresponding bushing. The forward movement of the bushings and corresponding forward movement of the I plate is limited by heads. l4 mounted on the sevdesired cooling.

eral studs. This means of mounting the'plate provides for a substantially floating attachment of theplate within the cabinet, so that when a can of milk is placed in the cabinet and forced into position-therein, the several springs l3 will be placed under compression and-will thus serve to hold the plate in firm contact with the after portion of the can body. Thefdotted line position indicated in Figure 4, shows the manner in which the plate is moved by the can and in prac-v tice I find it convenient to force these parts into firm contact by providing upon the inner surface of the door 2 of the cabinet a bumper i5 which is preferably of elastic material, such as rubber, or may, if desired, comprise a spring or even be rigid. When the door of the cabinet is closed, the bumper. will engage with the can and force the can rearwardlyi within the cabinet to. bring about the firm contact between the can an the plated to which I have referred.

Mounted on the back of convex face of the plate 5 is a coil it of any appropriate number of convolutions as may be required to effect the The'coil is looped back and forth in contact with the plate 5 as shown best in Figure 3 and those portions of the coil which engage with the plate are preferably soldered,

Lure 2 with the cabinet omitted, so as to 'show ,sweated or The plate 5 is of a height to extend for the greater portion of the plate, may conveniently be made of copper, brass or other suitable material of high conductivity, so that, when the coil is intimately-connected to the plate as stated, an efllcient heat exchanging relation results. The opposite ends of the coil are connected by relatively long leads l'l-to the control valve 18 of the refrigerating system which valve. may be located in any appro- -.priate position, either inside or outside of the of the coil may be left unattached to the plate to provide for greater movement of the coil without harm to. its connections.

With the arrangement which I have described the can is placed in the cabinet and when the door is closed the bumper It will automatically insure flrmcontact between the can and the plate somewhat in accordance with the practice of dispensing from a tilted can in some cabinets, for the lowermost springs may in suchinstance be compressed to a greater extent than the uppermost springs. In any event intimate contact between the can and the plate 5 will result. In practice a suitable latch is provided to lock the door 2 of the cabinet-in closed position.

brazed thereto. I This coil,as well 5 and this is true even though the can is tilted when the can is in place in the cabinet as described, the heat of the milk in the can will be transferred to the wall. of the can and then by direct contact with the plate will be transferred to the plate to be conducted through the plate and coil to the refrigerating medium circulating in the latter. Thus the invention provides for rebe such a thin layer of air between these parts as not to appreciably insulate one from the other.

- Thus the milk in contact with those portions of the wall of the can which are in direct engagement with the plate willfhave heat exchange -frigeration through metallic conduction of the parts and even. though certain parts of the plate 40 a may be slightly spaced from the canpthere will through metal conductivityto an appreciable extent and in practice themilk in the can is agitated by any known form of air or mechanical agitation common to the art, so that all'parts of the contents of. the can will be brought into contact with the coolest portions of the wall of the latter and will thus be divested of residual heat through heat transfer of the character described.

I have shown in the accompanying drawings the plate 5 and the coil as made independently of one another and thereafter the coil mounted on the plate. It is possible, however, that the coil may be fabricated integral with the plate if so desired. Consequently in the appended claims,

through a front door. In some commercial constructions' the cabinet is such that the canis introduced from the top. 'The present invention may also be used in this type of construction by introducing the can through the top in such a way-as to force the ,plate backwardly against the tension of the springs to permit of introduction of the can after which the springs will to Y I assaava tion described moreover, theinvention has been described. In the preferred form. of the inven-v described particularly with reference to milk cans which have a cylindrical body and consequently the plate is correspondingly or complementarlly shaped. If the can or receptacle holding the liquid to be cooled is other than of the cylindrical form described, theplate will of course be correspondingly shaped to properly cooperate with the particular shape of the container.

In the foregoing detailed description, I have set forth'thc preferred practical embodiment of the invcntiombut the invention is to be understood as fully commensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: a

1. An apparatus for refrigerating liquids comprising a cabinet adapted to house a can; a plate shaped to substantially conform to the contour of the can and mounted within the cabinet to embrace a portion and not more than one half of the circumference of the can and contact therewith, and a refrigerating coil mounted on and in contact with said plate and free from contact with the can.

2. An. apparatus for refrigerating liquids comprising a cabinet adapted to house a can, a plate adapted to substantially conform to the contour of the can and mounted within the cabinet to embrace a portion and not more than one half of the circumference of the can with one face of the plate in contact with the can. and a refrigerating coil mounted on and in contact with the other face of said plate and free from contact with the can. I

-3. An apparatus for refrigerating liquids comprising a cabinet adapted to house a can, a metal plate adapted to substantially conform to the contour of the can and mounted within the cabi- 'nct'to embracea portion of the circumference of the can with one face of the plate in contact with the can, a refrigerating coil mounted on and in contact with the other face of said plate, and means for cushionably holding said plate in such contact with the can.

4. An apparatus for refrigerating liquids comprising acabinet adapted to house scan, a metal plate shaped to substantially conform tothe contour of the can, a plurality of springs forcing one face of the plate intov intimate contact with a portion of the circumference of the can, and

'a refrigerating coil mounted on and in contact with the opposite face of said plate.

5. An apparatus for refrigerating liquids comcan and to embrace a portion of the c'ircumferencc thereof, springs bearing against said plate to hold the same in contact with the can. and a refrigerating coil mounted on and in contact with said plate.

'7. An apparatus prising a cabinet adapted to house a can, a door for said cabinet. a plate iioatably and resiliently mounted within the cabinet and shaped tosubstantially conform to the contour of the can and to embrace a portion of the circumference of the can, means for forcing and holding said can in contact with said plate, and a refrigerating coil mounted on andin contact with said plate.

8. An apparatus for refrigerating liquids comprising a cabinetadapted to house a can, a door for said cabinet, a plate floatably and resiliently mounted within the cabinet and'shaped to substantially conform to the contour ofthe can and to embrace a portion of the circumference of the can, means mounted on the door of the cabinet for forcing and holding said can in contact with for refrigerating liquids com= said plate, and a refrigerating coil mounted on A and in contact with said plate.

9. An apparatus for refrigerating liquids comprising a cabinet adapted to'housc a can, and a refrigerating unit resiliently and floatably mounted within the cabinet in contact with the can and shaped to'substantiaily conform to the contour of the can and embrace a portion of the circumference thereof.

10. An apparatus for refrigerating liquids comprising a cabinet adapted to house a can, a refrigerating unit mounted within the cabinet and shaped to substantially conform to and embrace a portion of the circumference of the can, and means for resiliently holding said refrigerating unit in contact with the can.

- TAMMINGA. 

